Eye for an Eye
by StrawHatCaptainLuffy-Sama
Summary: A pirate crew, called the Blood Brothers, is targeting Luffy. Taking one of his friends hostage, they demand that he gives himself up in exchange for his sniper back. Luffy agrees, going with the Blood Brothers and saving Usopp from the malicious pirates. But... what do these pirates want with Luffy anyways? (M for later chapters, and because I'm a freakazoid)
1. Chapter 1

"Usopp! Are you okay?" Luffy shouted. Usopp was tied up, unmarked but completely terrified. The ship he was on was not the Sunny; it was the ship of the Blood Brothers. The two ships, the Sunny and the ship the Brothers called Soul Snatcher, rocked gently in the waves, only a mere ten meters away from each other. Luffy would've long since rocketed over there, if one of the men didn't have a knife to Usopp's throat.

"I'm f-fine! D-don't worry about m-me!" Usopp called back, but he was obviously shaking in his boots. The man threatening him at knife-point laughed coldly.

"You won't be unless your captain decides to come over here and give himself up!" he snarled in Usopp's ear. Luffy gritted his teeth angrily. How _dare_ these people threaten his friends!

"If I go over there and let you have me, will you let him go?" he asked warily. There was only the other pirates to hear him, the others of the Straw Hat crew long gone to do their own things on the nearby island.

"Oh, yes! We promise!" one of the Brothers answered gleefully. Luffy had a conflicted look on his usually-sunny face.

"I'll come. Just let him go first," he decided, his eyes steely.

"Luffy, you can't-"  
"I made my decision, Usopp! Now let him go!" Luffy barked. The first man used the jagged knife to cut away the ropes restraining Usopp from running to the water. A Brother grabbed a long board, stretching it out between the two ships. Usopp immediately clambered over to the Sunny.

"Let's go! Run!" he screeched, running for the wheel. But a Brother smirked dangerously.

"Now, now! You have to honor your side of the deal!" he hissed in a fake-friendly voice. Luffy's face was unreadable as he took his straw hat off of his unruly black mess of hair.

"Usopp, give this to Zoro. Tell everyone... I'll be back someday. Wait for me," he said softly, stretching an arm up to place his hat in Usopp's hands. Usopp's eyes were glassy with unshed tears.

"You can't go, Luffy! You're our captain!" he wailed, scrambling down the stairs. Luffy smiled, a happy smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"A captain's got to keep his crew safe, doesn't he?" he tossed back, stepping onto the board to cross the stretch of water inbetween the ships. The Blood Brothers all smirked cruelly, watching the scene with amusement.

"No! Get back here, Luffy!" Usopp cried, starting to follow the captain. But Luffy turned and sent a fist Usopp's way, casting him back to the Thousand Sunny with a crash.

"Do you think I want to go? Please, just don't make this any harder..." Luffy's voice broke, and he practically ran the rest of the way to the Soul Snatcher. As soon as he was in range, a flurry of large, hairy hands reached to grab him. Usopp let out a strangled cry when he couldn't see his captain any longer. One of the Brothers pulled the board back, smiling with false sympathy.

"Aw, don't worry! You can see him again in Hell!" he said, malice in his eyes. Usopp just fell to his knees, his eyes flowing with sadness.

"Luffy..."


	2. Chapter 2

"That was fun!" Nami chirped, practically skipping back to the Sunny.

"Maybe for you," Zoro grunted, struggling not to drop the tall stack of clothes Nami made him carry.

"Nami-san looks so beautiful when she's happy!" Sanji cooed, hearts in his eyes.

"Just carry the damn bags," Zoro growled.

"What did you say, marimo head?" Sanji stepped closer to the swordsman, a threatening gleam in his eyes.

"We're back, Usopp! Let down the ladder!" Chopper called hastily to distract the two from their budding fight. Succeeding, the two men looked up from their glares. But after a moment of waiting, Chopper became confused.

"Usopp! Let down the ladder!" Still nothing. But Robin solved the problem by creating a ladder with her Devil Fruit powers.

"Thanks, Robin!" Chopper said hastily, already climbing the makeshift ladder. "Usopp! Hey, it's us!" With still no reply, he quickened his pace until he reached the railing. Balancing carefully on the narrow wood, he looked around the deck.

"Do you see him?" Nami called up from the ground. But Chopper have no answer.

"Usopp!" he cried, spying the sniper kneeling on the ground, his back turned to the doctor. He didn't react to Chopper's voice, worrying the small reindeer.

"Usopp...?" He crept up behind the still man, his hooves barely making a sound on the wooden deck. Franky watched from the top of the ladder, blocking the rest of the climbers.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Chopper asked softly. "Where's Luffy?" Franky, hearing Chopper's questions, looked around himself.

"Yeah, where is Luffy-bro? He'd usually be yelling at Sanji-bro for food right about now," he commented, stepping onto the deck to allow the rest of the crew to get up.

"Usopp? Did something happen?" Nami asked quietly. Usopp finally reacted, his hand slightly twitching. He slowly turned his head to look at everyone over his shoulder. They all were shocked to see tears falling from his eyes.

"L-Luffy was kidnapped! And it was all my fault!"

* * *

Luffy almost pulled away from the hands squeezing his arms, but he remembered that the Sunny was still in the enemy's firing range. He settled with gritting his teeth as hard as he could. The large hands, much larger than his own, pulled him roughly across the deck. Luffy struggled not to trip over the many, much larger feet that practically stepped on his heels. But when someone purposely stuck out their foot to trip him, he would've gone down if not for the hands holding him up.

"Watch it!" one of them snarled as Luffy tried to regain his footing. Luffy shot him a glare, but kept quiet. He couldn't give them any reason to attack his friends.

"What, cat got your tongue?" a particularly wide one sneered, leaning a little too close for comfort. Luffy leaned away from his booze-stained breath, wrinkling his nose in disgust and trying to hide behind one of the Brothers.

"Aw, don't be like that!" the man said mockingly, trying to grab his arm. But one man slapped his hand away, practically murdering the other man with his eyes. Trying to act like he wasn't scared at all, Luffy placed a dark scowl on his face and glared at every face that passed by. Many seemed to shrink at the hate in his gaze, but a few laughed and called it 'cute' how the 'new kid' tried to act tough. But Luffy knew that if they thought he was cute now, they were going to think he was goddamn adorable when he kicked their asses.


	3. Chapter 3

_***Slouched against a withered stone wall, my head down***_  
 _ ***Slowly looks up***_

 _ ***Stares into your soul with my dead, glassy eyes, black mist escaping my mouth***_

 _ **Here, have an update *Throws a dripping wet update into your face* It sucks, be warned.**_

 _ **I just... I haven't had good inspiration lately... Someone please give me some ideas... First one I read I'm using, unless I really don't like it...**_

 _ **Here's a new chapter, finally...**_

 _ **Oh, and please tell me if you think I should just put this on hold for a while to focus on Smile and Seven Days...**_

* * *

Nami ran up to the men as soon as their feet touched the grassy deck.

"Find anything?" she asked instantly. She could tell by their disheartened faces that they hadn't, but there was no harm in asking.

"There's absoluetly no news at all about those Blood Brothers or whatever," Sanji sighed, for once not obsessing over Nami's beauty.

"And nobody can seem to remember if they stopped by their towns or anything," Usopp added, absently touching the straw hat he now wore on his head like a crown.

"It's almost as if they never even existed," Zoro said with a shrug. Nami felt her heart sink into her stomach, twisting around and reveling in her misery. But she couldn't imagine how Usopp must feel, knowing it was his fault the captain was gone.

The four stood in silence for a while, the only noise their soft breaths and the occasional clink of Zoro's swords knocking against each other.

"I'm going to go make lunch," Sanji said abruptly, no longer able to stand the silence.

"I'm going with you," Usopp said immediately. Sanji grunted, but he didn't say anything as he strode away, Usopp following along like a lost puppy or something.

"This is so not super..." Franky muttered, his usually chipper personality going down the drain.

"We're doing everything we can," Chopper murmured, "and we still haven't found a single clue to where they might be." Everyone gave a dejected sigh.

"Hey, Zoro?" Zoro blinked, surprised at hearing Usopp calling his name. He looked over, and Usopp was peering out of the doorway. "Do you think we can talk for a while? Alone?" Zoro was curious, to put it lightly, but he walked over nonetheless.

"Not here," Usopp said hastily, spying a few eavesdroppers *Chopper*. Zoro shrugged, but followed the sniper up to the crow's nest anyways.

"So? What is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's about the Luffy thing..." Zoro was up and over there in a split second.

"What is it? Did you find something?" he asked, practically scaring Usopp half to death.

"N-no! Nothing like t-that!" he stuttered, backing away. "I-I just thought that he could be in more danger than we think!" Zoro had relaxed at first, but now he was as tense as a drawn rubber band.

"What do you mean?" he asked, almost warily. Usopp sighed in relief that Zoro was no longer trying to strangle him, but his eyes still looked haunted.

"Those guys that took him... I think they were slavers," he said ominously, unconsciously gripping the brim of the straw hat so tight his knuckles went white.

* * *

Luffy made a noise inbetween a sneeze and a cough. The guards looked on indifferently, but he was determined to make one at least move.

"Hey, did you know that armor makes you look fat?" he teased. He saw the one he was taunting twitch slightly, his hand growing closer to the gun strapped to his waist. Lufy grinned, knowing he had touched on a sensitive spot.

"Or maybe it makes you look skinnier, but it couldn't make you look any different because you were too fat anyways," he mused, leaning back against the wall, careful to stay away from the Sea Prism Stone bars. The guard he was provoking suddenly whipped out his gun, aiming at Luffy's shoulder, and fired. Luffy expected it to bounce off, just like they always did.

But he let out a choked gasp of pain when the bullet lodged itself deep into his shoulder. His shoulder felt like someone had just stabbed him with a razor-sharp knife. That was on fire.

"Sea Stone bullets," the guard said, slipping the gun back into it's place with a sneer. Luffy slowly slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor, holding his wounded shoulder the best he could with the Sea Stone cuffs around his wrists. His hand came away smeared with his own blood. He took a look at his shoulder, but the blood wasn't too noticeable thanks to his red vest. He let his head droop, and he almost panicked when he couldn't see his hat anywhere.

 _Relax. You gave it to Usopp, remember?_ his inner voice chided. Luffy inwardly sighed in relief.

"Right. I just need to calm down. They'll come to save me," he whispered to himself, ignoring the searing pain of the bullet in his flesh. A sudden bang on the bars of his temporary prison made him jump about a foot in the air, and he glared at the offender.

"Welcome to your new home, Straw Hat Luffy," the man jeered, opening the door or the prison and letting someone very familiar into the room.

* * *

 _ **Uuuuuughhhh... I'm sorry about the part-cliffie... I'm just too tired to not make it a cliffhanger...**_

 _ **Again! I'll take the first good idea someone gives me. So, either review them or message them to me. Now, I need to go get some syrup to make me feel happy...**_


	4. Chapter 4

_***Spins round like a moron until flopping to the floor, my eyes rolling up into my head, blood pooling under me***_  
 _ **The sniper that shot me: UPDATE, YOU (A word that isn't suitable for the A.N.)**_

 _ **"Me: *Jumps up and bristles defensively* Why should I?**_  
 _ **Sniper: Because you love me**_

 _ **Me: ...WHAT THE FRICK NO!**_

 _ **Luffy: What about me? Would you update for me?**_

 _ **Me: I'm on it *Types furiously since I didn't even start a chapter until just now***_

 _ **Sniper: You misspelled half of it**_

 _ **Me: I don't care. It's an update, is it not? Besides, nobody cares about my suckish spelling anyways. My writing is too amazing to care *Flips hair fabulously***_

 _ **Sniper: *Sweatdrop* Um, no**_

 _ **Me: *Hair falls into my eyes* I knew it...**_

 _ **=AND NOW FOR THE ACTUAL CHAPTER=**_

The man was swinging his legs, sitting on the dock, looking up at the sky. It could've been the perfect picture of tranquility, except the three swords laying next to him and the reindeer on his lap slightly ruined the image.

"Do you think we'll be able to find him?" Chopper sniffed, rubbing his bright blue nose. Zoro shrugged, absently petting the reindeer's head.

"I'm pretty sure we can. There's nothing we can't do," he said half-heartedly. To most, that was only true when they had their impossibly upbeat captain with them. But now, the crew just seemed like a group of broken outcasts, only staying together for fear of the loneliness that could consume them.

"B-but we haven't gotten a single lead..." Chopper sniffled again, reaching up to pull his light blue hat further over his face. Zoro looked down, not surprised to see the doctor curling up into himself, as if trying to disappear.

"Does that even matter? We'll find him anyways. Or he'll find us," he said, reaching up to brush his hand over the straw hat he now wore. The whole crew unanimously decided he should be the one to keep it, since he was the first one to join. He protected it just as fiercely as Luffy had, if not more.

Many people had recognised the hat, but they also recognised the man that held it as Zoro, not Luffy. It made them wonder just what had happened to Straw Hat Luffy to make him leave his symbolic hat with a directionless idiot.

"He could," Chopper agreed sulkily, dropping his head to his knees. "But he also couldn't."  
"Since when were you the depressing one? That was Robin's job," Zoro teased, though his voice was just as dark as Chopper's.

"Hey, shitheads. Lunch," Sanji called, though he didn't add any heat to his words. Zoro grunted and stood up, Chopper hopping off of his lap. The two climbed up the ladder, neither having the energy to protest at being called 'shitheads'.

"Um, isn't this a little too much?" Usopp asked, eyeing the giant table overflowing with this island's native foods. Sanji shrugged, then shivered and pulled his coat even tighter around him.

"I'm used to making too much food," he said blandly, daring to reach up and flick some ashes off of his cigarette. "Now hurry and eat it before the snow gets it." As if in answer, the wind changed direction, bringing a clump of snow directly to Zoro's head. He spluttered briefly before brushing it off, bringing only tiny smiles to the faces of the watchers.

"Is there any coffee?" Robin asked, and it was then Zoro noticed the dark bruises under her eyes, indicating that the archaeologist was doing more than just a little late-night reading. Sanji, miraculously, handed over the coffee without any extra flair. Robin took it with a grateful nod, then took a long drink.

"I hope Luffy-san didn't fall into the water and drown," she said morosely. Brook, having just come down from the crow's nest, gave a shudder.

"That gives me goosebumps on my skin! Ah, but I don't have any skin! Yohohohoho..." Even his always-cheerful laugh was flat and depressing. It was as if someone came and just unplugged them from the outlet known as 'life'.

"This is so not super..." Franky mumbled. "Everyone's being too sad. Would Luffy-bro like that?" Everyone turned to stare at the cyborg.

"No...?" Chopper said hesitantly.

"Exactly!" Franky exclaimed, making the poor reindeer jump in fear. "Luffy-bro would hate that we're being so negative! We need to cheer up!" He slammed a fist into his open palm. "Now, does anyone have any ideas?"

* * *

 _ **Thank you to my friend, who doesn't want to be named, for writing this chapter for me. I'm glad you decided to help me out here. Please maybe review, and I'll write more about Luffy on the next chapter. I couldn't bring myself to write any more after this.**_


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey! You're that dragon guy I punched at the tree place!" Luffy said, pointing the best he could with his shackled wrists. The fat man smirked, his flabby folds of flesh (say THAT five times fast!) jiggling as he walked.

"Ah, yes, so we meet again, Straw Hat Luffy," the Celestial Dragon sneered. "I still haven't forgotten that, you know." The bubble he had over his head quivered as he laughed.

"Almost...there!" He glared at Luffy when he realized the rubber boy wasn't listening, trying to reach a bucket that sat in the corner of the room.

"Listen to me when I'm talking to you, boy!" the Dragon shouted, but Luffy just triumphantly hooked his foot in the handle of the bucket and brought it over to himself, peering curiously inside. The Dragon became infuriated, and he stomped forward until his shadow completely covered Luffy. The raven looked up.

"Yes?" he said innocently.

"You brat!" The Dragon sretched out a fat foot, kicking the bucket back to the corner with a loud clatter. Luffy watched in mild interest, then leaned against the wall, lifting his hands once again to probe his bloodied shoulder.

"Is it injured?" the Dragon snapped. "I never take damaged merchandise!"  
"But sir-!"  
"However," the Dragon continued, a sick smile blooming on his face, ""this brat has insulted me far too much. I'll still take it."  
"It?" Luffy repeated.

"Thank you, sir!" One of the guards bowed deeply. "We'll transport it to your ship immediately, sir!"  
"It?" Luffy said again. "What's 'it'?"

"Very well. I shall leave the payment with your commander," the Dragon said briskly, turning and leaving. "Just don't damage the merchandise any more, or I might reconsider."  
"Yes, sir!" all the guards shouted, saluting the fat man as he waddled away*.

"Hey, what's 'it'?" Luffy asked kicking his legs into the air for lack of a better activity.

"Shut it, slave!" the guard that had shot him hissed, banging on the Sea Stone bars with his gun. Luffy huffed, but slumped over anyways. Trying to act strong when in reality he felt like he had endured one of Zoro's Oni Giris while underwater was excruciating, and he couldn't even hold his head up anymore. The momentary strength was gone, leaving an exausted, pained corpse behind.

"I'm hungryyy..." he moaned to himself, just as his stomach growled. "Where's all the meeaaat?"

"Oh, you're hungry now?" an extremely thin guard sneered. "Well, let's just go and free you and bring you to our banquet!"

"Wow, really?" Luffy awed, eyes shining.

"No! Geez, you really are stupid!" the same guard laughed. Luffy immediately flopped over again, his face changing back into an expression of agony. The fire in his shoulder was slowly spreading, and he didn't like it.

"Where's Zoorroooo...?"

* * *

The said swordsman sneezed, right when he was about to make a move. Sanji instantly knocked him over with a strong kick, taking care not to touch the hat Usopp had reluctantly handed over to Zoro.

"Someone must be talking about me," Zoro sniffed, not bothering to get up.

"Who would want to talk about you?" Sanji snorted disbelievingly.

"A lot more people than you," Zoro retorted tiredly. It felt good to say something _normal_ for a change, because ever since that fateful day, the whole crew had been out of whack. Him and Sanji had only sparred because Franky thought it would bring a sense of normalcy back to the two rivals, and his plan was working.

"I'm done here," Sanji said abruptly, turning away and flicking away some cigarette ashes.

"Eh, I'm bored, too," Zoro said, but still didn't rise.

"You even coming, marimo?" Sanji muttered half-heartedly.

"Just wait, dartbrow," Zoro shot back automatically.

"Moss-head."  
"Love cook."  
"Directionless moron."  
"Hopeless pervert."

"GUYS! GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS!" Usopp shouted excitedly, scrambling over to them. Zoro wearily sat up.

"What is it?" the two older men sighed.

"We got something on the Blood Brothers!" Usopp gasped breathlessly. "And you're not going to like it!"

* * *

 _ **...*Slowly raises hands in the air, my face completely expressionless***_  
 _ **Do what you will. I regret nothing. Except that if you kill me, I'll never finish this story.**_

 _ **Think on that before you kill me.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**About two years later...**_

Usopp suddenly gasped loudly, toppling over the railing to land with a _thump_ beside Zoro. The swordsman cracked open his eye, used to Usopp's sudden falls and small noises.

"What is it this time? A dragon?" he snorted, closing his eye again.

"Actually, yes! If you count a Celestial Dragon!" Usopp breathed, climbing back up to stare across the water. His eyesight had improved tons, and he could now see almost as far as a telescope. Zoro, though he was slightly interested, just shrugged.

"So what?" he muttered. "Doesn't matter to me..."

"Luffy could be on that ship!" Zoro flinched at the name. It had been, what, eight months now since he had heard that name?

"I seriously doubt it. We've attacked every Celestial Dragon alive, and not one even knew his name," Zoro sighed, not even bothering to open his eye anymore.

"But this could be it! Imagine, Luffy could be only a few miles away, waiting for us to rescue him, and you don't even want to get up!" Usopp jumped down to go rouse the others, 'failing' to notice that he stepped on Zoro's swords. The green-haired man growled threateningly when the sniper passed. Tensions had been increasingly growing stronger in between the crew, slowly breaking them away from each other without Luffy as their glue. Usopp disappeared into the ship without even another glance, showing a small sign of defiance to the first-mate-turned-captain. Zoro glared at the door, then slid the straw hat over his eyes.

Though he didn't show it, he actually was itching to go over and cut that Celestial Dragon's ship to pieces simply for just being there. He decided to settle with observing with his Haki, and he slowed his breathing and relaxed, letting his awareness expand over a vast expanse of water. When he located the ship, he zeroed in on it. He felt the pressures inside, tested them out. Some dropped under his force, but the rest simply shifted in discomfort. But one made him pause. There was a bright red aura, but it wasn't red from anger. It was red from pain. Another aura was close by, black as Sanji's suit. The black aura was obviously growing stronger from it's own ego, while the red one flickered and shrunk.

Zoro abruptly pulled back. He recognized that red aura. He lifted the hat, and saw everyone was already preparing to head to the ship. Chopper was staring at him, obviously awaiting orders, while everyone else just stuck to their task and milled about.

"We're attacking. Now," Zoro said firmly, standing up. Usopp seemed surprised by the sudden change of heart, but accepted the decision wholeheartedly.

"Let's go!" he shouted. Franky dashed to the steering wheel, then pressed a button. Wings sprouted from the sides of the Sunny, and the rudder elongated and turned until it was parallel with the ground.

"Sunny Wings!" Franky shouted, just as the wings began to flap. The whole ship rose from the water gracefully, with no lurching or rocking. It started to move forward, gradually picking up speed, until it was streaking towards it's target. The golden ship dead ahead. The new 'tail' controlled the movement, keeping the ship on course, while the wings simultaneously flapped, creating winds strong enough to knock down an ordinary man. But the crew wasn't ordinary, and they stood on the deck with determined looks on their faces, waiting for the moment when they could destroy the golden dragon-like ship that sat in their path.

Waiting for the moment to kill.

* * *

 _ **Yeah, without Luffy, the crew just breaks apart! Oh, and the last sentence? They aren't bloodthirsty, they just met some former slaves, heard how bad it was for them, and now hunt down the Celestial Dragons and kill them so they won't harm another human in the world.**_

 _ **Plus, Zoro knows that someone they know *Cough* Luffy *Cough* is aboard that ship.**_

 _ **Ooh, and you'll love next chapter! Someone we all know and love will join in on the rescue for poor Luffy! I'll give you a hint-**_ "The weak don't get to decide anything, not even how they die."

 _ **Try to guess! Good luck! *Knows everyone else knows it***_


	7. Chapter 7

Landing just feet from the ship, the Sunny sent a spray of sea water up and over the railings, dousing both ships. Zoro mutely waved his hand, and the Straw Hat crew took a few steps backward. Zoro pulled out his Wado Ichimonji, holding it right in front of him, pointing at the ship with the blade. He sliced it downwards, expecting the ship to cut into two, but the ship didn't so much as creak. He snorted. They did some serious coating on this thing if it could survive that. The Sunny inched closer, but suddenly crashed into an invisible forcefield and came to a shuddering stop.

"They're using some kind of magic!" Usopp shouted, noticing the way the sun's rays glinted off of something invisible and shiny. On the Dragon's ship, a few guards came running to the surface, weapons in hand. When they noticed the Sunny couldn't get any closer, they laughed and jeered at the pirates, mocking them. But the pirates didn't care for the insults, or the fact they couldn't get any closer. Because something very familiar was rising out of the water. A submarine. The sub pulled up alongside the pirate ship, and the top opened up. Someone climbed out and stood on the sub, arms crossed, face solemn.

"I heard Straw Hat-ya was here?" Law said coldly. Not waiting for a reply, he held out his hand, palm facing downwards. "Room!" A small sphere appeared and expanded until it covered nearly a whole mile of sea. Law pulled out his sword, then sliced it at the ship. The forcefield neatly split in half, and the halves dispersed into glittering dust. Once the guards aboard the Dragon's ship realized that, they panicked, calling for reinforcements. But it was already too late. Once they had gotten the chance, the pirates, Law included, surged onto the ship.

"Look for Luffy," Zoro ordered, pointing at Law. The surgeon didn't disobey, nor did he outright refuse. Instead, he wordlessly slipped inside the ship, face grim as he cut down the guards in his way. "Hold them off so Tra-guy won't have any trouble!" Zoro moved to the doorway, all three swords out in a defensive stance. The Straw Hat crew-now his crew- obeyed instantly, moving to stand beside Zoro and fend off the guards that had appeared from nowhere. Most probably came from the room above, but that wasn't important. What was important was that they kept them back.

"Found him!" Chopper's ear twitched. He was the only one that heard.

"He found him!" Chopper breathed quietly. "I'm going in!" Zoro nodded, and Chopper backed inside, using Kung-Fu Point to kick someone away from Sanji's unprotected back. He followed Law's scent, worried by the smell of fresh blood. He turned the corner and paused. There was someone in front of him, but it wasn't Law. No, this person was fat, ugly, and smelled horrible. Chopper almost got ready to fight, but the person pitched forward, landing on the wooden floor with a loud crash. The ship lurched, and it took Chopper a second to regain his balance. Once he did, he carefully climbed over the body. And promptly froze.

* * *

"We don't have time! Move it!" Zoro jumped away from the door as it exploded off it's hinges. Chopper, in Arm Point, dashed out, carrying something big covered in cloth. It took Zoro a moment to register that the cloth was stained with red, and that a hand was dangling out from a fold, painted crimson. He instantly knew.

"Retreat!" he shouted. All the pirates, even the Heart Pirates, drew back to their ship and submarine. The Dragon guards cheered as if they had one, but their cheers turned to cries of alarm as their ship broke into pieces, leaving them stranded in the sea. The pirates didn't turn back.

* * *

Once the crew was aboard, Chopper disappeared inside. Nobody said a word. Their conversations were just brief glances, and their movements were small and subdued.

"Robin!" The woman walked to the infirmary at Chopper's call. She was the least affected by blood and violence out of everyone in the crew, Chopper included, so it made sense that she would be called. That left only six on the deck, nervously shifting and glancing once in a while at each other. Once, Zoro went to go peer at the wreckage they left behind. There was only a few guards left, desparately clutching on scraps of wood floating on the sea's surface. He had scoffed at them, and nearly put them out of their misery, but Nami's hand on his shoulder stopped him. He impatiently turned to the navigator, a cutting remark on his lips, but he stopped at her expression. Nami shook her head slowly, then turned and sat under her tangarine trees, absently tossing an orange between her hands.

They hadn't had the chance to say a proper good-bye to Law, but Zoro could sense them trailing behind, waiting to either be noticed or recieve a report on Luffy's condition. Even if Law wouldn't admit it, he was worried about the Straw Hat captain, and he wanted to know if Luffy would be okay or not. Luffy did always have that effect on people, Zoro thought in amusement. Making friends out of enemies and strangers.

"You better not die on me, Luffy."

* * *

 _ **Yep, Law helped save them all. And the Heart Pirates are going to be around for quite a while, until I get tired of Law. *Which will never happen***_


	8. APOLOGY AND ANNOUNCEMENT

_**Hello all. I know it's been a while, huh? Before you rage at me, throw things, or plot my ultimately painful demise, let me explain.**_

 _ **I've had cancer for a while now, and my family's tight on money. So we had to sell my computer to try and get my cancer treated. I haven't had a chance to touch an electronic device (minus painful medical equipment) in months, let alone been able to log into Fanfiction and type for my stories.**_

 _ **Ultimately? Treatment worked. I'm now scot-free, with just a few scars and no hair. I've been thinking about working on these stories again, but I'm not too sure about that. My writing has definitely improved after all these months of inactivity, so if anybody wants me to restart my stories, drop a review and tell me. Maybe one day I'll suddenly get the inspiration to continue writing these awful things, maybe even go back and fix them up a bit.**_

 _ **All of these were started on the whim of a stupid, oblivious fourteen-year-old girl that wrote thinking she was better than everyone else in the world. Now, I know better. I'm not the best, and I'm not the worst, but I can sure as Hell try.**_

 _ **I hope that all of you will forgive me for my extended absence. I know there was no warning and I just dropped off of the face of the earth, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I'll try to be as active on here as before, but I can't make any promises. Especially now that I'm not so sure if I'm in the One Piece fandom as deeply as I was before.**_

 _ **Farewell for now, and I hope that I will see all of you again someday.**_


End file.
